The Role of National Culture on Relationships Between Customers' Perception of Quality, Values, Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of individualistic cultures (such as the American culture) and collectivistic cultures (such as the Chinese culture) on the interrelationship among service quality, food quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in the fast-food industry. First, the authors provide empirical evidence of the robust relationships among the constructs across diverse cultures. Second, they investigate how moderator variables such as customer age, gender, and national culture affect customer behavioral intentions. Moreover, they examine how national culture, as a moderator, affects the magnitude of the relationships among these constructs. Using survey data collected from the United States and China, results indicate that national culture does have a moderating effect on the relationships and there are differences in the behavioral intentions of American and Chinese customers. More specifically, in the United States, service quality and food quality have a stronger influence on customer satisfaction than in China. Also, the effect of perceived value on customer satisfaction and the effect of customer satisfaction on customers' behavioral intentions are stronger in China than in the United States. Overall, the findings provide rare cross-cultural insights and thus serve as building blocks for strategies in the global fast-food domain.

• culture differences
• fast-food industry
• service quality
• structural equation modeling

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chao Wen

Chao Wen is an assistant professor in the School of Business at Eastern Illinois University. He received his doctorate in management science from the University of North Texas. Wen obtained his master's in science degree with a concentration in supply chain management and bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Electronic Science & Technology of China. Wen has published journal articles in the Journal of Computer Information Systems, Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, Information & Management, and International Journal of Services Technology and Management. His research interests include e-commerce, consumer behavior, service operations, statistics education, and supply chain management. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

G Qin

Hong Qin is an assistant professor at The University of Texas-Pan American. She received her doctoral degree from The University of North Texas. Her teaching areas include business statistics, multivariate statistics, and management science. Some of her more recent publications can be found in the International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, International Journal of Services and Standards, and Quality Management Journal. Qin is also a board council member of the Decision Sciences Institute-Southwest Region.

Victor R. Prybutok

Victor R. Prybutok is a Regents professor of decision sciences in the Information Technology and Decision Sciences Department and associate dean of the Toulouse Graduate School at the University of North Texas. He received his bachelor's degree from Drexel University, a master's degree in bio-mathematics, a master's degree in environmental health in 1980, and a doctorate in environmental analysis and applied statistics. He is a senior member of ASQ and active in the American Statistical Association, Decision Sciences Institute, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and Operations Research Society of America. Prybutok is an ASQ certified quality engineer, certified quality auditor, certified manager of quality/organizational excellence, and an accredited professional statistician (PSTAT®) by the American Statistical Association.

Charles Blankson

Charles Blankson is an associate professor of marketing, and received his doctorate in marketing from Kingston University, London, U.K., and his master's degree in marketing from Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, U.K. He has a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) — a U.K. teachers' qualifying certificate from the University of Greenwich, London, U.K. He holds the professional marketing diploma (Dip. M.) from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, U.K., and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the American Marketing Association, and the Academy of Marketing Science. He held managerial positions with Burger King (U.K.) Ltd. and the London Borough of Wandsworth, and graduate trainee positions with Marks & Spencer Stores Ltd. and Harrods Store Ltd. Blankson has been a visiting scholar in marketing at Kingston University Business School and the University of Ghana Business School. In addition, he supervises masters' theses at Kingston University Business School and doctoral theses at the University of Ghana Business School. He initiated, researched, and successfully set up a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the University of North Texas and the University of Ghana.